Press review of early October

Housing construction in the province and the country is under the microscope in our press review.

By Corinne Laberge

 

" Quebec is negotiating with the federal government to receive its share of the $4 billion Housing Acceleration Fund, which aims to create 100,000 housing units in Canada," explains this article from La Presse Canadienne relayed by Les Affaires dated October 5. "Quebec municipalities, to whom the money must ultimately go, should benefit from $900 million," it adds.

With the provincial government's economic update due to be tabled on November 7, Premier Legault argued for urgency. "If we want (to) include the $900M from the federal government, the deadline is Friday (of next week), so we have one week left and it's urgent," he said.

In response, Justin Trudeau emphasized: "I assure you that the urgency I feel is because I want more Quebecers to have access to housing as quickly as possible, and that's why we're continuing our very good conversations between the Government of Canada and the Government of Quebec," reports the text.

Housing Minister Sean Fraser stated at a press conference: "I think it's possible to complete the discussions very quickly. It's possible on Friday of next week (...), but I think it's an issue that will be concluded in weeks, not months."

A federal source speaking to La Presse Canadienne suggests that "Quebec has indicated to Ottawa that it is prepared to match the $900 million that the federal government will contribute", it reads. However, François Legault "merely stated that his government will do its part". Finance Minister Éric Girard maintains, however, that there is currently no agreement, noting that "the federal government is setting conditions that are unacceptable".

However, there is no "bickering" between the two levels of government. "I don't sense that we're divided on what we want to accomplish," said federal Housing Minister Fraser. 

The article recalls that "The Housing Acceleration Fund is designed to cut red tape and update local zoning policies. The initiative, spearheaded by the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC), is scheduled to run until 2026-2027. Finally, "In Quebec, Ottawa cannot enter into agreements directly with municipalities. In accordance with provincial legislation, an agreement must first be reached with the Quebec government," we note.

Entitled "Housing starts climbed 1% in Q1", this other La Presse Canadienne piece in Les Affaires outlines recent data released by CMHC. "New home construction rose slightly in many of Canada's major cities in the first half of 2023, as the pace of apartment starts helped offset declines in other housing types," states the introduction. However, CMHC asserts that "it will be difficult to maintain the high pace of apartment construction due to challenges facing developers, such as rising construction costs and rising interest rates".

We learn that Vancouver and Toronto are the only two of the six cities analyzed where housing starts increased compared to the same period last year, with jumps of 49% and 32% respectively. "In Montreal, a 58% decline in housing starts was observed compared to the first half of 2022," it is reported. 

It is further reported that "The agency expects strong demand for rental housing in the second half of the year, reflecting the greater barriers to home ownership caused by high prices and interest rates." Adding that "the overall level of new construction activity remained too low to solve Canada's affordability and housing supply crisis in the long term, and that it would be "paramount to sharply increase ? the productivity of the construction sector".

In conclusion, this Journal de Québec article entitled "Housing: Montreal has never built so little in 26 years" looks at the reality of the Quebec metropolis. According to CMHC data, "Of the six largest metropolitan areas (CMAs) in Canada, Montreal had the fewest housing starts in the first quarter of 2023, with only 5,927 units, all housing types combined", it states.